Brannock, 32, a trooper for eight years and a father of two, was a Boy Scout himself. He had doubts Sterne would make it, but says he saw a will to live in that young man that made him run back inside to find more survivors.

This week, Brannock met with Sterne's parents at the hospital. Sterne and Brannock will meet soon.

"I'll be happy to shake his hand," Brannock says. "He is definitely a hero in my eyes. If I never have to do anything like this again, this is enough."

While the survivors recover, Brannock is back on the job, finding his own healing now in the day-to-day routine.